Maxthon for Mac 1.0.4.1000 Beta

A fast web browser with built in cloud features

By Mark Wilson | 19 Sep 12

Web browsing, like computing in general, brings about two key concerns – speed and security. These are areas that Maxthon addresses straight away, offering performance that is a claimed 200% faster than Chrome. The browser has been slow to find its way onto OS X despite having been available for Windows, iOS and other platforms for some time. In terms of looks, the browser is not entirely dissimilar to Chrome, but this is no bad things.

If you’re already using Maxthon on your iPhone, iPad or Windows PC, you can take advantage of the cloud storage and syncing of bookmarks. Anything you bookmark on one computer will be made instantly available on any other device you have the browser install on. It’s not just bookmarks that can be synchronized, and Maxthon can also transfer you password, cookies and other browser data.

An important feature of the browser is its ability to play video files without the need to install any extra plugins or extensions. Obviously this is not infallible, but for the most part you should find that you can view pretty much and video you encounter without first having to pay a visit to a different site to download additional software.

As well as boasting impressive performance, Maxthon stands up well in terms of stability. Anyone concerned about their privacy – such as on a shared computer – can use the private browsing mode to keep their browsing history away from prying eyes. To help save typing, the browser will remember passwords and other data you enter into online forms, but while the speed of performance is noteworthy, Maxthon has little to offer that can’t be found elsewhere.

Verdict

A fast and secure browser, but aside from extension-free video playback, there is little out of the ordinary here.